A frequent misinterpretation of Deuteronomy 23:17 treats it as a general ban on all prostitution or homosexuality, disregarding the Hebrew terms qedesha and qadesh which denote ritual prostitutes in pagan worship, not secular immorality; this anachronistic reading ignores the verse's context within laws against Canaanite religious practices and applies it to modern consensual acts rather than cultic abominations that corrupted Israel's worship.
Deuteronomy 23:17
King James Version (1769)
17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
Deuteronomy 23:17 prohibits Israelites from engaging in cultic prostitution, specifically barring women from becoming qedesha (sacred prostitutes in Canaanite fertility rites) and men from becoming qadesh (male temple prostitutes), emphasizing God's demand for sexual purity and holiness among His covenant people to prevent idolatry and defilement of the nation.